QUICK NEWS

The ministry of education on Sunday clarified that no reserved posts can be de-reserved, following draft guidelines proposed by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The draft guidelines, titled 'Guidelines for Implementation of the Reservation Policy of the Government of India in Higher Education Institutes (HEIs)', are currently open for feedback from stakeholders. However, these guidelines have faced criticism from various quarters.

The Congress party has alleged a "conspiracy" to end reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs in higher education institutions. They claim that the Modi government is only engaging in "politics of symbolism" regarding the issues faced by Dalits, backward classes, and tribals. In response to the controversy, the JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) has announced a protest against UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar on Monday.

JD(U) President and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said "only Hindi should be spoken" and the party tolerated it for the sake of cordiality in INDIA alliance, DMK leader T R Baalu said in Chennai on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters after holding seat sharing talks with Congress leaders in the city, Baalu, when asked on exit of Nitish Kumar from INDIA alliance said it appeared that right from the beginning he had "some issues" and there would not be any electoral "damage" due to his move.

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday justified the authorities' move to take down Lord Hanuman's portrait from a 108-feet-high flagpole in Mandya's Keragodu village, saying they should have hoisted the national flag.

"It is not right to fly the saffron flag instead of the national flag. They should have hoisted the national flag," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The move has triggered a massive political controversy with the BJP squarely blaming the Congress for the incident.

In line with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s vision, plastic waste, especially single-use plastic, along with bitumen is being used extensively in the construction and strengthening of roads in Uttar Pradesh.

This initiative has become an example for the whole country, making the roads cost-effective and at the same time, ensuring its durability.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has apologised to Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien for calling him a foreigner. Amid the Congress party's efforts to woo its miffed INDIA bloc partner Mamata Banerjee, Chowdhury expressed regrets over his remark on X. "I conveyed my regrets to MR DEREK O'BRIEN for a word inadvertently uttered by me to him as FOREIGNER," he said.

Chowdhury had taken the jibe at the Trinamool MP after the latter squarely blamed him for derailing the INDIA bloc in Bengal. "Derek O’Brien is a foreigner, he knows a lot of things. Ask him," he had said.